Muddy boots

I grew up in New Jersey, and spent my college and veterinary school years in New England. I am used to the winter. Heck, I learned how to drive on the ice in NJ and spent over 30 days in a row where the temperature never got above 20 degrees in Massachusetts one winter. (Frozen pipes? Yep.)

I know that wouldn’t count as a harsh winter for my North Dakota friends, but it was touch much for us Mass folks.

In New England, once winter sets in, it gets cold and snows. It stays cold and that snow sticks around until the spring. Not so in Indiana. Indiana cycles through snow, rain, and mud. For months.
The week after Christmas, we got somewhere between 12-18 inches of snow, in two storms. On January 11, it rained somewhere around 2 inches. The snow melted and the ditches flooded.

And it made mud. Lots and lots of mud.

Droid RAZR MAXX

I’m a Motorola phone user. And I’ve had my “regular” RAZR for almost a year. I’m a giant fan. But I’ve heard lots and lots about this RAZR MAXX from some friends, and I’ve been itching to try it. I got the chance to try one from Verizon Wireless. Turns out, I love it even more than my “regular” RAZR! The RAZR MAXX (on the left) is a little bit bigger than the RAZR (on the right), but just barely.

(There’s a glare-resistant screen protector on the phone on the right, so don’t judge the screens by this photo.)

The RAZR MAXX (left) is also just a little thicker than the RAZR (right), but not enough that it’s uncomfortably big.

Hands down, my absolute definite most favorite thing about this phone is the battery life. If the RAZR MAXX had an “i” in it’s name, I would dot it with a little heart. I consistently got 2 full days of battery life out of this baby with moderate email and social media usage (minimal video, and a little streaming music). Holy cow! Farmer Doc also took this phone to work for a couple of weeks. The service in our veterinary clinic isn’t great, and his regular RAZR would be dead by the end of the day. The MAXX? Still had at least 40% left at the end of the day.

Slow-cooker sweet and sour beef

I am in love with “Slow Cooking All Year Round” by Gooseberry Patch. Everything I have tried has been a success… and so easy! am giving away a copy of this cookbook, and you can still enter until midnight on Wednesday 1/16, so go check it out!
Slow-cooker sweet and sour beef…  Like going out for Chinese, but better!

Gooseberry Patch Cookbook Giveaway

I am always looking for good slow cooker recipes, and Gooseberry Patch always delivers! In fact, one of their new cookbooks for 2013, Slow Cooking All Year 'Round, recently made it into my kitchen. Better yet, I have one copy to give away to one lucky reader!
I love that this cookbook is broken down by seasons. There are the hearty stews you think of for winter time, like the Hearty Meatball Stew.

Samsung Galaxy S III Phone

Farmer Doc and I recently had the opportunity to test drive this Samsung Galaxy S III phone from Verizon Wireless. This was our first adventure into Samsung electronics. (Although definitely not our last!)
I’ve been used to the Motorola DROID RAZR phone. The Samsung phone had a little different feel with rounded corners and soft angles, which I liked. It’s about the same size and weight as the RAZR, so it was easy to get used to.